Fly Like an Eagle
by Noble Falcon
Summary: SquallxRinoa. This is about Timbers war of independence. Rinoa and Squall, who's a fighter pilot callsign Lionhart must convince Laguna & Esthar to help. PLEASE R&R Rating for violence and lemons. CH8 up!
1. Spread Your Wings

Fly Like an Eagle

Chapter 1: Spread your Wings.

It had happened. Balamb had joined Timber in their war for independence against Galbadia. Balamb had sent it's SeeD into battle, but, though each was masterfully trained in all forms of combat, there were simply not enough to defeat Galbadia's hordes of soldiers. Timber needed more support. Trabia was too far away, and supply lines would be too hard to maintain, so this left Esthar as Timbers last hope.

Rinoa Heartily, an ambitious, raven haired 17 year old was very involved in this. She had been appointed ambassador and had worked night and day to get Balamb on their side, but now she had her sights on Esthar. She had called the president and pointed out that if they lost this war, not only would the citizens of Timber suffer, but Balamb would be severely weakened and wide open for an attack. Galbadia would conquer it with out breaking a sweat, and would move north against Trabia, who wouldn't last long. It was up to him to stop this.

"Mr President, your army is every bit as powerful as Galbadia," Rinoa had told him. "With your soldiers, Balamb's Seed, and the Timber underground forces such as the Gray Foxes or the Forrest Owls, there's no way we can lose. Timber would be a valuable trading partner in future and would be indebted to you for your service."

"Yes, ambassador, I am aware of the consequences. However, I am unsure if the people of Esthar would approve of charging off to war against a country many consider our allies just because one of their colonies decided to become a country. We haven't had open warfare since the sorceress wars, and I would certainly prefer this didn't happen during my term of office." President Loire told her.

"I'm sorry sir but people are fighting and dying_ now_ and if we can't get your support I'm afraid we're all doomed to be under the oppressive control of Galbadia until well past the end of your term. History will remember you as the last president of a great nation that was afraid to act." Rinoa said desperately.

"..." There was a pause from the other end. "You make a strong point ambassador. If you would come to the Presidential mansion, we can gather the governors together and discuss going to war."

"Very well, when shall we meet?" Rinoa asked.

"It won't take long to rally the governors together, as soon as you can get here." Loire had replied.

Rinoa was very tired but very pleased with her work, it was past 11:00 and she had been working since nearly six that morning. Deciding that she'd inform her superiors of this accomplishment in the morning, she packed up her personal things and headed home. She hardly slept all night.

"You actually convinced him to meet with you?" Quisitis had asked her the moment she had explained what had happened the night before. "That's wonderful! You'll have to go straight away."

"I know," Rinoa said with a sigh. She had been expecting her boss to say this.

"We'll get Balamb's best pilots to get you there" Quisitis said happily.

"Pilots? As in more then one pilot and crew?"

"Yes Rinoa, you'll need escorts! You'll be flying right over Galbadian airspace. You'd be shot down so fast you couldn't even say–"

But what exactly it was Rinoa wouldn't have time to say without being shot down, she never knew. The phone had rang at that exact moment and Quisitis had answered it while mouthing silently for Rinoa to be ready to go the very next morning and that she would take care of flight arrangements. Rinoa went back to her desk and began gathering all the info she'd need to convince President Loire to come to their aid. When finally she was satisfied she had everything she needed, she went home to pack and get an early night. The phone rang bright and early, and Quisitis informed her to be at the airport in an hour.

"Oh man, one hour! That's ridiculous! It's only 4:30 now!" she complained into the phone, although Quisitis had already hung up. She grudgingly got out of bed and showered, dressed, and made herself look as presentable as possible with a shiny blue silk blouse with a knee length black skirt, a matching blazer, and high heels. She arrived at the airport and was surprised to find Quisitis and a man she hadn't met waiting for her at the entrance.

"This is Cid, he'll be your pilot." Quisitis said before Rinoa could ask.

"Nice to meet you," he said, offering his hand to her. She shook it.

"And you." Rinoa said as she surveyed him. He had the look of a powerfully built man with a bit of a sweet tooth. His arms were thick and muscular, although he had a rather large protruding gut that made his crisp neat pilot uniform look oddly stretched.

"Follow me, Cid will get your bags." Quisitis said to Rinoa as Cid took Rinoa's suitcase and purse and walked out toward the runway with them. "Do you have all the data you need to make an accurate assessment of our situation to President Loire?"

Rinoa sighed. Quisitis asked her this before every trip, in almost those exact same words. "Yes yes, of corse I do." she replied.

Quisitis led her outside onto the runway too, but to the other end than Cid was heading to. Rinoa noticed that rather than commercial airlines, there was one private jet, and 3 identical fighter jets. Looking around she saw Cid hurrying toward them from the private jet, and three people gathered around one of the fighters. She could see his steel gray eyes from here...

"Alright now before we take off," Cid said when he'd reached them, "I thought you'd like to meet your escorts. Eagle squad, front and center!"

The men near the aircraft grabbed their helmets and ran toward them wearing identical gray jump suits. It matched his eyes perfectly... When the men reached them they stopped 10 ft. from Cid, standing feet together and right arms up in identical salutes.

"At ease" Cid barked at them. The spread their legs to shoulder width and crossed their arms behind their backs. "This," he continued to Rinoa and Quisitis, "Is our best fighter pilot squad. They are expertly trained in aerial as well as ground combat and all three are SeeD rank 30. They think for themselves and act upon instinct, rather than strictly by orders, which explains why they are not top rank. I assure you that you will not find better pilots anywhere in the world."

Rinoa caught the eyes of the man in the middle, the one with steel gray eyes. She felt his gaze as though he were looking right through her. His long brown hair fell about his face, which had a long diagonal scar across it.

"For the interest of security, we will not be giving you their real names. You will address them by their call signs. This–" he said indicating the man on the left with short blonde hair and a mean looking tattoo on his face, "–is Karate Kid, or Kid for short. He's an expert martial artist and has the height of a 12 year old." Kid scowled, but Cid went to the man to the right. "This, Is Wild West,"

"West for short ma'am" He said, his chocolate eyes glinting at them flirtatiously. He was taller than the others, had long brown hair (kept in a neat ponytail), and a smile that would make any woman's knees weak. But Rinoa was looking at the last man, who she had been looking at earlier.

"This, is Lionheart. He has all manner of nicknames, none of which he approves of. He is Squad Leader." Cid finished.

The one called Lionheart said nothing, but simply continued to stare into her blue eyes with his gray ones.

"He don' say much now, but wait 'till we're in the air, then you'll hear him bark some orders at us." Kid told them to explain the silence.

"Well, I think we're about ready to go, Rinoa if you'll follow me to our plane, these men can get to their fighters." Cid told her, leading her to the passenger plane that already held her bags. She entered and took a seat in the cockpit, not so she was in the way, but so she could see out the front and could hear the radio. Cid did not object to this.

"Systems check." said a voice she didn't recognize. It was deep, and methodical, yet with a note of arrogance thrown in there. She liked this voice, it was very distinct and made all her worries melt away. Of corse she'd be ok, this man was with her. Her thoughts were interupter when she heard another voice on the radio.

"Karate Kid here, all systems checking out."

"Wild West reporting all systems are ready to go."

Cid picked up the radio, "Mother goose here with cargo intact, over."

"Lionheart, here, I'm set. Let's fly boys." the voice said again.

**A/N: It's about 10:30 here on 8/30/05 and I'm sick of writing right now. I have renovated this story and have it all planed out. Chapter 2 will be posted tomorrow so I know I won't get any reviews. But please even if it's like a year after this post, PLEASE review my stories. I'm still new to fanfiction and haven't posted a story since _play for me_. This isn't as bad as it was and now I know what's gonna happen so I don't have to keep making shit up as I go. Rated M for a possible Lemon as well as language and violence although you can't tell by this chapter. R&R pleeze. **

**-N. F.**


	2. Dogfight

Fly Like An Eagle

Chapter 2: Dog Fight.

Rinoa had just began to doze off after more or less an hour of calm flying. She got dizzy trying to watch the fighters flying around outside. They seemed to be circling her jet. Guarding it against unknown and unseen enemies.

"Alright, now entering Galbadian airspace." Lionheart said on the radio.

"Alright Ms. Ambassador," Cid said to her, "These are our best pilots as I explained before. I've ordered them to bail out if they take more than 50 hull damage, in short, if things heat up too much, they'll evacuate, and we'll... surrender if necessary."

"I'm not backing out" said Lionheart through the radio. Cid seemed to be addressing the pilots as well as her.

"You will if you want to remain squad leader." Cid said firmly.

"C'mon Mother Goose, you know I don't give a damn about being squad leader, I've been leader 3 times, and lost it 3 times. This time is no different." Lionheart replied arrogantly, yet still maintaining his respect for Cid. Rinoa wondered how someone could have two completely different tones at the same time. She would not grow tired of this mans voice.

"Looks like company, how many you got on your radar Kid?" West asked through the radio.

"Just one, think he's a single?" Kid answered.

"He's a single. Kid, stay here, West give me cover, I'm going head to head." Lionheart said. Rinoa watched as the plane in front and to the left of her accelerated. She began to hear a beeping from the terminal in front of her.

"What's that?" Rinoa asked Cid.

"That's our bogey, ghostrider 01-00, we'll see what he does when our boys go head to head. You can watch from here if you like." he said indicating the copilots chair. Rinoa got up and went over to the seat she'd been offered. She saw what had been beeping. It was a large circle in the terminal in front of her that had a light from the center and extending to the edge going around in circles. She looked to the top of the radar and saw a red dot, two yellow dots closer to the center, and another one to the right of the center. She realized that the two yellow dots were West and Lionheart, while the one to the right was Kid. Each time the light passed over the dots, the red dot moved toward them, and the 2 yellow move toward it. They were engaging.

"Sir, do I have permission to fire?" West asked, sounding nervous.

"Do not fire until fired upon." Cid said. Rinoa was still watching the radar. The light had crossed the dots, and while the yellow had stayed the same, now there were two red dots.

"Shit! There's two of 'em." Lionheart said. Rinoa watched as the planes paired up with one of the opposite color, and began flying around chasing each other. Not a shot had been fired, although...

"God damn it, he's got missile lock on me... I can't shake him" West almost cried into the radio.

"On my way, hold on" Lionheart told him. Rinoa watched him chase the red dot away for a moment and headed over to where the other red dot was following Wild West closely. Lionheart was in close pursuit of the other bogey, ghostrider 02-00.

"C'mon on baby, lock on, c'mon" Lionheart said as he coaxed his system, as though it would help. "Got'cha!"

"Thanks Hero," West said, relieved as bogey 02-00 flew around to come in for another pass. Rinoa wondered for a moment who he was talking to, but then remembered about Lionheart having many nicknames, none of which he approved of. 'Hero' must have been one of them.

"Karate Kid engaging." Kid said as he accelerated into the battle. Rinoa watched as the five of them flew around each other struggling for missile lock, but none wanting to be the first to fire.

"We got three more, coming in fast." West said breathlessly. Sure enough Rinoa saw three more red dots approaching labeled 01-01, 02–01, and 03-01. Rinoa understood. They were part of another squad. The three new bogeys approached in tight formation going toward Kid. To Rinoa's horror she saw another dot on the radar, smaller than the planes, white, and moving much faster.

"Incoming! Kid! Watch yourself!" Cid barked. "Fire at will boys."

Kid had just managed to avoid the missile. It exploded behind him, missing his engine by mere feet. Rinoa saw another white blip and looked to see that Lionheart had fired. It made contact and the red dot vanished.

"Ghostrider 01-00's dead." he said, his voice no longer containing arrogance, but focus, and concentration.

"Nice shot Hero." Kid said.

"Please don't call me that."

"Too bad, you've saved our asses a lot more'n we've saved yours."

"...Whatever"

"Are you two ladies finished, I believe it's still 4 on 3 and I've taken 38 hull damage from 01-01. He decided... to be a prick. But unfortunately he's a prick with a machine gun." West said.

"Machine gun?" Rinoa asked Cid. "I thought they used lock on missiles."

"They do. But sometimes you get too close for a missile shot. If you fire too close, you'll take a good bit of damage too when you fly into their explosion. So, at close range, you use guns." Cid explained.

" Here he comes... yo ass is mine bitch!" Zell said as he fired his guns, but was hit a few times in return. He turned around sharply and fired a missile without waiting for a lock. It made contact, and, though it wasn't a direct hit, It blew it's wing off and it spiraled to the ground.

"Ghostrider 02-01's out of the game." He yelled happily into the radio.

Rinoa watched as the six planes circled each other occasionally firing a missile that was dodged and sent flying off into the distance. Nobody seemed to making contact until she saw a missile fly right toward one of the yellow dots.

"Oh shit! I can't dodge–" the radio went static. It was Kid. It didn't seem to be a direct hit. Every now and then she'd hear 'Mayday!' or 'I'm going down!' and she truly hoped he'd be ok. She didn't know if he'd had time to eject or not.

"Bastard!" Lionheart shouted, his voice now full of rage. "Which was it!"

"Ghostrider 02-00. Lionheart, don't be stupid." Cid said cautiously into the radio.

"Congratulations 02-00, you now have my full attention" he said as he turned sharply to fly toward bogey 02-00. Both fired guns damaging each other badly, but Lionheart fired a missile at the last minute, and only just avoided the explosion as he swerved away.

"Lionheart report in, what's your status?" Cid shouted.

"Pissed off and really beat up. Hull damage is well over 80 and I'm down to 1 missile, and had to shut off my right engine so it wouldn't explode." he said.

"And you West?"

"Overall, not too bad. 56 hull damage, 2 missiles, and a slight brake problem, I think they severed the connection from my brakes to my right wing. Both engines functioning normally."

"I want you both to bail out _now_" Cid ordered them.

"Not a chance fatso. We can take 'em" Lionheart said.

"Oh cmon man, be polite." West said as the four remaining fighters regrouped in their groups of two.

"You're right, sorry, I meant not a chance fatso, _sir,_ we can take em, _sir._" he corrected himself. "This isn't about any ambassador or mission anymore. This is for the Kid." They turned and engaged once more. Guns blazing the fighters flew around each other. Rinoa could now see them, as her jet caught up to the battle. "There's one on my tail, can u get him off me?" he asked West.

"Kinda busy now," said Irvine as his left engine was hit by guns, forcing him to extinguish it.

"I'm sick of this shit, he's right behind me, I'll hit the brakes, he'll fly right by." Lionheart said. Rinoa watched as Lionheart's plane veered upwards and slowed down by almost half. Bogey 03-01 did indeed fly right past him with out realizing what was happening. Lionheart lined up the shot and fired within a few seconds. "Ghostrider 03-01 is down."

"Ghostrider 01-01's bugging out. Looks like we got this one won." West said.

They stayed in that area for a while, watching ghostrider 01-01 retreating to out of their range, and off their radar. About 10 minutes later, Rinoa saw the scariest thing she had ever seen. Ghostrider 01-01, flanked by 4 new bogeys labeled 01-02, 02-02, 03-02, and 04-02, as well as 2 Apache helicopters, and several tanks with anti-air guns heading their way.

"GO! NOW! GET OUT OF HERE! They know we're here. They want to know what we're transporting and what's so important about it." Lionheart yelled into the radio. "Reschedule this flight."

"We'll hold em off, you get out of here!" West told them. Cid began to turn the plane around and fly back to Timber's soil.

"They'll be killed! You're going to abandon them!" Rinoa asked, already knowing the answer.

"It's a soldier's responsibility to complete the mission or die trying" Cid said. Rinoa was about to object when she heard a loud _CRASH_ and felt the plane catch fire. They were hit. They were going to crash, and she, Rinoa, was going to die. Timber would lose the war, and Balamb would be conquered. She had failed. As the plane plummeted to the ground she realized with horror that Cid was dead, his face burnt and bloody. After that Rinoa could remember nothing. Next thing she knew, she was on the ground, bloody and injured, but _alive_. She carefully got out of the plane and looked up. A fierce battle was raging.

Lionheart was being pummeled, he had no missiles, and his engine was only functioning at 30 and falling steadily. He was never fast enough or maneuverable enough to get enough hits to take down an enemy plane. Wild west had taken two out with his missiles, but his engine was hardly at 40 and there was little he could do either.

"Squall, are you there?" West asked. It was the first time he'd been called by his real name in quite a while. He decided to return the favor.

"Yes Irvine, I'm here." he said as all his alarms and warnings and danger alerts were flashing.

"You have one on you... right?" Irvine's voice sounded weak.

"Yeah"

"Take him north, and have him fire a missile, I'll take these 2 in front of you."

"What are you doing?"

"Just do it, _sir_. I just... want you to know, it's been... an honor... _sir_." Squall did as Irvine asked. He began dodging those bullets with everything he had, until finally... the missile was fired. Squall dived with all the power he had left, and dodged it. Irvine slowed down until he was level with his pursuers and took the missile hit head on, destroying him, and the two planes next to him. Squall was horrified. Before he knew it, his other engine had been shot out, and he went into a flat spin straight into the ground, injured, but alive.

**A/N: AAAHHH! Don't hate me for this, sorry fans of Irvine and Cid too if there are any. Are there any of you who'd pick Cid as your favorite character? Anyway. Shit's hitting the fan now. I hope you'll stick with me, this get's better, there aren't people dying in every chapter, promise! I didn't talk about Zell on purpose. Why? Wait till the next chapter!**

**-N.F.**


	3. Fate of a Comrade

Fly Like an Eagle.

Chapter 3: Fate of a Comrade.

He regained consciousness soon after the crash. He was lightheaded... couldn't think... things seeming to swim strangely. He didn't know where he was, or who he was for that matter. He was covered in blood and didn't know why. Then it all came flooding back to him, the battle, Karate Kid crashing, Cid's plane being shot down, Wild West sacrificing himself for his survival, and he, callsign Lionheart, crashing to the ground and hitting his head hard on the terminal. Some glass seemed to have embedded itself in his arm when the cockpit smashed. He winced painfully as he removed it.

"This is pilot 082388, come in Timber headquarters, come in! This is callsign Lionheart." All he received was static. He tried again. "Can anybody hear me, this is pilot 082388! Hello!" more static coming from the remains of his radio. His arm throbbed painfully. He reached under what was left of his seat and pulled out a small dented black metal box and opened it. Inside were his emergency supplies, including bandages, a knife, and a universal service pistol, with 2 extra clips. He seized the bandages and began wrapping his arm up. Blood was seeping through, but he payed no mind, he had work to do.

He attached the large knife to his belt and put on his gun and holster. He drew his pistol. He had never confirmed the death of Lt. Zell Dincht, callsign Karate kid. He guessed he should at least confirm he was on his own, before trying to do anything about it. He began heading south, toward Timber. Zell had been the first to crash, so he estimated him to be closer to Timber. He moved through the night staying out of sight of the tanks and apache helicopters. Night had fallen when he reached the first crash sight. He heard movement ahead. He raised his pistol and crept slowly forward, he saw the figure and instinct took over. He sped up and grabbed the figure and pressed his gun to their head. As he moved forward into the light he'd realized that this wasn't Kid's crash sight at all, but the wreckage of the private jet Cid had been transporting the ambassador in. So that meant that his hostage was...

He let go of Rinoa quickly. She looked at him, his steel gray eyes upon her, his gun still raised. She felt relieved at seeing him, but his eyes did not soften, and he did not lower his gun, which was pointing between her eyes. She started to feel afraid, his eyes were cold as ice.

"Lionheart?" she asked, now terrified. The sound of her voice intoxicated him. His eyes softened, he lowered his firearm, but was still looking at her with his steel gray eyes, neither willing to break eye contact.

"We need to get out of here, Galbadian tanks and choppers are still searching for our remains. Salvage what you can, we need to find Zell." He said slowly, still not breaking eye contact. Rinoa wondered for a moment whom Lionheart was talking about, and then realized "Karate Kid" and "Wild West" weren't their real names, just their callsigns. Since Wild West had been killed in an act of heroism, she assumed 'Zell' must be Karate Kid. This made her think.

"Zell, that's Kid's real name right?" she said, still wondering if she should ask her question or not.

"Lt. Zell Dincht, Eagle squad pilot, SeeD rank 30." he said automatically.

"So... what's your real name, Lionheart?" she asked him, cautiously. He didn't answer immediately. But then...

"Lt. Commander Squall Leonheart, Squad E leader, SeeD rank 30. But I bet because of my failure they'll take away my rank as commander and at least 5 SeeD levels." He said, feeling more comfortable talking about his rank than giving his name to some ambassador girl. Rinoa couldn't process anything for a moment other than his name.

_Squall, _she thought to herself. _Squall, like a storm, a short storm, a **violent**__storm. Leonheart, now I understand his callsign. If... you get passed the storm... you'll find the heart of a lion. How wonderful, how poetic._ She was snapped out of her musings about his name when she remembered the rest of his words to her.

"They wouldn't demote you! That's outrageous! You guys were outnumbered by, like, 9 to 1! This isn't your fault! They just can't do it to you... Squall." she blushed as she said his name. He didn't notice.

"Well, anyway, we need to get going, grab anything that survived the crash. I have to find my wingman." he said, turning to the wreckage. Rinoa tentatively stepped into the plane, and found that her possessions in her suitcase were undamaged, the bag itself was singed, but not badly. She grabbed it and looked around. Everything else was either smashed or burned to cinders. She came out with her bag and found Squall crouched down peering around the wreckage. She looked through where the window used to be, and saw two figures, heavily armed, walking toward them. Galbadian soldiers. She went out to Squall, who motioned for her to stay there and be quiet. She wasn't about to disobey. She was a politically powerful and important woman, with a lot of influence, but she wasn't a soldier.

Squall waited, poised to strike, gun in his right hand, knife in his left. Just as the two men rounded the corner of the wrecked plane, Squall grabbed one and forced his knife to the man's throat, while pointing his gun straight between the eyes of the other.

"Nobody move," he said, his voice deeper and rougher than when he spoke to her.

"You SeeD, man, You guys don't learn." The man said as Squall continued to aim for his head. "You guys think that because you're soooo well trained that 3 of you can take on Galbadia." A gunshot echoed and the man fell to the ground, dead.

"Bad move man." said the other. "People gonna come lookin' for us and if we dead, u guys gonna get it to."

"Shut up." Squall replied angrily as he slit the soldiers throat. Rinoa came out looking terrified.

"Squall? Did you just kill them? In cold blood?" She asked him, her voice shaking, her eyes, wide.

"Yes and no. They would have turned us in had we set them loose, told the others of our plans if tied up, and they showed my brothers in arms disrespect. I'm never proud or happy to take a life, but it must be done." he said, giving every indication of just having an unpleasant job, rather like a garbage man. This however was much worse.

"I can't believe you!" she quietly yelled so as not to attract more soldiers. He ignored her. "Do you feel no pity, no remorse? Your hands and your soul are bloody! You're nothing but a hired killer!" She cried, eyes watering.

"I spill the blood of my enemies and my brothers for your stupid war. I never chose this, you think I would go around killing people if our lives weren't in danger? Next time you call me a hired killer, think of who hired me!"

His words hit deep. He was right. 100 right. This was her fault, not his. She began to cry softly.

"I'm so sorry." she cried weakly. He looked at her again with those steel gray eyes, and as she looked back into them, she found them... softer. Much more apologetic than they had been. He said not another word about it, nor did she, as they walked south, searching for Lt. Zell Dincht, callsign, Karate Kid. After some time of walking through the night, and the occasional command of "Duck" from Squall as a plane would fly over, they came upon another crash sight. Or rather, 2 crash sights. Bogey 02-00, and Kid. Squall walked over to his comrade's plane and examined it. It was still, for the most part, intact. Squall wrenched open the cockpit and there, lying unconscious, was Zell.

Squall grabbed him by the waist, pulled him out of the plane, and laid him down flat. He was a real mess. Burns on his face and neck, several deep cuts, still bleeding, and what seemed to be, based on it's awkward position, a broken arm. Squall took hold of the bad arm, and with a sickening crack, set it back into place. Zell seemed to wince slightly. Maybe Rinoa imagined it.

"He's alive." Squall said, relieved.

"Thank God. What are we going to do with him? Take him with us? We're miles from the nearest city, there's no way to help him." she asked, genuinely worried.

"I know what to do." he said. He reached into Zell's cockpit and pulled out a black metal box. Inside was a knife, gun, and first aid kit. He stashed the gun in his pocket, attached the knife next to his own on his belt. He pulled out the first aid kit, and seized a small round pill. "This is called 'False Death,' do you know what it does?" he asked.

"No," she said.

"Whoever takes it will be put into a deep coma. You will not move, feel, think, dream, or even breathe. Your heart rate will be suppressed. This will put him into a state where it's safe for him travel. We'll get him to the nearest town, have an air evacuation to Timber soils, and discuss our options. The nearest town would be..." He said, looking around. "Dollet, that way." he said. (A/N please ignore the geography errors, I don't have a map, and none of this would make sense on the regular world map anyway, just bear with me.)

He grabbed Zell under the arm and hoisted him into an upright position. Carrying everything they could manage, they set off toward Dollet, and as soon as they thought they were far enough away not to be spotted, they laid their things down, set up a makeshift tent out of a tarp that the cockpit used as a parachute, and floored it with Rinoa's exra-large sleeping bag. She pulled out a blanket and her pillow, and laid down, covered up, and propped up her head with the pillow. She looked over at Squall who was just sitting on the sleeping bag, just looking out on the road they would travel over the next few days.

She felt the desire to do something... something that would get his attention. She felt bad about their argument about him having to kill people. She knew full well that if they hadn't been the enemy, he would never have hurt them in his life. She wanted to apologize, to explain that she hadn't really understood the duty of a soldier, and if he would please find it in his heart to forgive her. But of corse, she couldn't say that. Not directly at least.

"Um... about earlier. I'm really sorry for what I said to you. I hope you know I didn't mean it like... well, like _that._" she finished, still unsure of how to procede.

"Whatever."

"I'm serious, I want you to know that, while I'll never approve of it, I understand the need for bloodshed. I'm sorry for calling a noble soldier such as yourself, nothing but a hired killer. Please, won't you forgive me?"

"No harm done, I stopped letting words affect me a long time ago." he said.

This was her chance, he'd let a little piece of information about himself slip. Now she could inquire about it and learn more about the man with those steel gray eyes.

"When was that? And why don't words affect you?" she asked, a little too insistently, for his response was not favorable.

"I don't want to talk about it." he said lying down on the other end of the sleeping bag, lying flat on his back. She had an idea. She rolled over and kissed his cheek gently. She blushed, but not as much as he did. His facial expression was as stoic and unreadable as ever, but he couldn't hide the reddish color that had risen up in his face.

"Will you tell me later?" she asked in her most tender of voices, he face still but inches away from his.

"Whatever." he said.

"Well I want you to, and if it doesn't matter to you," she said, catching him in a technicality, "If whatever I want is fine, then you'll tell me the story. But later." She kissed him softly again. "I promise I'll be as nice and understanding as I can be. Ok?"

He nodded, still red, and rolled over, his back to her. She smiled, here was a man who could take care of her, but needed her to take care of him. How perfect. She looked at his dormant image, and wished she could share her blanket and pillow, but knew he would never allow it. At least, not yet.

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to update. This is kind of a boring chapter, but it's necessary, and I've just had other shit to do. I'll update more frequently after this weekend, and maybe once more before it. What do you guys think about the beginning of my romance plot. The lemon isn't coming for another 2 or 3 chapters, sorry! Please R&R. Griever's Ruler, if you're serious about helping me out with the lemon (as I have never written one) you can send me one, and, though I'll adapt it some so it fits what's happening in the story, I'll be sure to include it. If you're serious, then thanks in advance. **

**-N.F.**


	4. Journeys

Fly Like an Eagle

Chapter 4: Journeys

Rinoa grudgingly awoke next morning from a dream where Squall had admitted his love to her and given her his word that he would protect her from all evils, if she could only love him back. She sat up, still in a good mood, Squall's voice still in her ears, though he hadn't spoken to her since the previous night. As she yawned and stretched, still thinking about her crush on Squall, she looked around. Squall was not in their tent. She left the tent, and looked around outside. It was a beautiful morning, the sun creeping up over the horizon. She saw Squall walking back towards her, his gray jump suit unzipped slightly so she could see his white t-shirt and something shiny silver underneath it. She watched him make his way up the path toward her. It looked like a painting, a violently orange morning sky, a thickly wooded forest on the right side of the path, and open plains to the left. And right in the middle, her hero. She gazed at this beautiful sight until he was right in front of her, looking at her strangely.

"You ok?" he asked, looking at her.

"Huh? Wha..?" she came to her senses, "Oh, yes, I'm fine." She now had a clear view of his unzipped jump suit and the silver emblem of a lion on a long chain around his neck.

"Let's get going." he said, walking over to their camp and beginning to pack up. She went over to help him, and after a few minutes, they were packed. Rinoa slung her backpack over her shoulder, and was reaching for her travel bag when Squall picked it up, Zell supported on his shoulder, and began to follow the path.

"Wait up!" she called. He turned and looked at her, his steel gray eyes seeing right through her. "Where were you this morning?" she asked.

"Just taking a look around, we won't have any problems for several miles, then we'll have to go around the military base, and then we'll stop for the night. If we make good time, we'll be in Dollet by tomorrow afternoon."

"Well that's good. I wouldn't want to spend any longer than I have to with _you,_" she teased, hoping for an indignant reaction, at least a smile. Squall had never once smiled since she'd known him. He didn't smile now either.

"I wouldn't either." he said quietly but distinctively.

"What?" she asked. She must not have heard him correctly.

"Never mind." he said, and continued to walk at a brisk pace, so Rinoa was almost running to keep up. This continued for several hours. The scenery didn't change much as they walked, but Rinoa was becoming more and more irritated at the almost inhuman pace.

"Can we stop for a while?" she asked. Her feet hurt very much, and she desperately needed some water. She didn't smell too good either, although a shower was out of the question. "Why do we have to go so fast?"

He didn't answer. This annoyed her further.

"Hello! Earth to Squall? Come in! Lets's stop for a while and rest; I'm tired, I'm thirsty, and I don't smell too pretty. Please, let's just stop, just for a few minutes." she complained.

"If you want to rest, I won't stop you," he shot back. She didn't say anything else for hours, although she could have sworn the pace had slowed down slightly. Night fell upon them.

As it grew steadily darker, Squall began to lead her into the forest. As to why he was doing this became clear quickly. Rinoa saw in the distance a large building, fenced in by barbed wire and surrounded by gun turrets. The military base. She heaved a sigh of relief, that, although they were in very dangerous territory, they were at least almost don't their walking for the day. He led her deeper and deeper into the forest until she could no longer see the base.

"Where are we going?" she asked at last.

"Far enough away not to be found." he said pushing branches and bushes aside. They finally came to a clearing, a river running through the center. She gasped.

"Wow, are we staying the night here? It's beautiful!" she said in an awe-filled voice.

"I suppose, this way you get everything you want."

"Huh?" she asked, confused.

"Look, fresh water." he said, as though the meaning of this was perfectly clear.

"Excuse me?"

"You can drink it, then you won't be thirsty, you can bathe, then you won't smell bad, and then you can rest and recover, then you can shut up and leave me alone." he said as though he were explaining that one plus one equals two to a three year old.

"Ok, first of all," she began angrily, "I am _not_ drinking or bathing in that gross river water. Secondly–" Squall walked over to the river, pulled a small metal container from an inside pocket of his jump suit, and dipped it in the water. "Are you even listening!"

"Dramine water, as I thought." He said.

"Excuse me?"

"Dramine, it's an element that can be very deadly in larger doses, but in this water it's only one part per one hundred million, quite healthy actually." he explained.

"What does it do?"

"Well, your skin can become damaged from thousands of different sources, and dramine attaches to those damaged spots and combines with the platelets in your blood to stop infection and heal you faster. And a small amount is healthy to drink, so it will be in your blood when you need it. Quite safe at this current concentration. I suspect that this river runs down from a mountain, as there are rock formations near the top that usually carry trace amounts of dramine." he said strangely, as though the information had been memorized.

"Thanks for the science lesson professor." she teased, sure that this would get a reaction from him. She was wrong again.

"I'll set up camp here, you can go upstream and bathe to your hearts content." he said.

"You won't try to sneak a peak will you?" she asked, smiling in a teasing sort of way.

"Don't worry, I don't like ugly little girls anyway." he said

Feeling insulted, she did as he suggested, and went upstream with a towel and bathrobe, well out of sight of Squall. She felt a little strange at first to be stripping naked, but her feelings changed dramatically when she got in the water. It was just above waist height and felt... different. It was almost... smooth. As the current pushed the water past her body, it felt as though silk were being carelessly pulled across her legs. She dived into the water and felt the same wonderful sensation spread all over her body. She rose above the water feeling the cool air on her wet face. It was a wonderful feeling. She went under again, taking in large gulps of the water, which felt so smooth and refreshing. She leaned back, floating on her back. The current was strong, but for some reason she wasn't moving. The water was so smooth. She was so relaxed, she hardly noticed her head slip under the water. She couldn't breathe, she needed air, but she was still so calm and relaxed. She was fading in and out of consciousness... her vision was blurring. Then, just as all went black, she felt two strong arms grab her.

Rinoa woke up lying on the sleeping bag inside their shelter. Her robe had been put on her and tied tightly.

"Maybe I should have been more clear, dramine doesn't stop you from drowning." said a voice she recognized. She sat up quickly breathing heavily.

"What happened?" she asked, shivering. It was much darker out, and colder too.

"You took a long time, so I thought I'd see if you were alright. I found you drowning. I pulled you out of the water, and gave you C.P.R until you awoke just now. You were unconscious for over an hour and I was–" he said, stopping abruptly.

"You were what?" she asked.

"Nothing"

"Worried about me?" she suggested, holding back a smile. He nodded slowly, turning scarlet in the face. She smiled and moved closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder, and wrapping her arms around his neck. She shivered as a strong wind blew outside.

"I... You're... It's cold, I'll go make a fire." he said nervously, trying to pull away.

"It'll be warm here if we stay close." she said, pulling him into a prone position, and snuggling up close. She pulled her blanket over them and adjusted her pillow so they both rested their heads on it, their lips less than inch apart. Rinoa felt his soft warm breath on her face. She leaned forward slightly, and gently brushed her lips against his.

"Sorry you had to rescue an ugly little girl." she whispered, still trying to coax a smile. This time however, he did smile.

"You're not little, Rinoa, and you're definitely not ugly. Trust me on this." he said, wearing a smile that almost made her forget what he said. Something clicked in her head.

"How would you know?" she asked suspiciously.

"Oh never mind, you're right. I pulled you out of the river and put on your bathrobe with my eyes shut." Rinoa flushed scarlet.

"You are the biggest jerk I've ever seen! I can't believe you!" she said, hitting him playfully and laughing. He rolled over still smiling.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Next time I'll leave you to drown in the river." he said.

"No! Please... fine, I forgive you. Besides, looking as something as beautiful as I am shouldn't be a crime." she said as she climbed on top of him. He resisted at first, but became much more calm as he got used to her warm weight on top of him. His eyes met hers, and they kissed. When they broke apart, both blushed and looked away. She rested her head on his firm chest and listened to his heart beat and felt him breathing, slowly and steadily. She was just about to go to sleep when she felt his arms wrapping themselves around her waste. It was extremely comfortable.

"I love this man." she whispered as she fell asleep.

**A/N: Sorry this took so long guys, I've rewritten this damn chapter like 5 times trying to get it right. I hope the wait hasn't cost me some readers or reviews. I'm still not sure if I like this chapter so let me know what you think and I'll consider replacing it. I've had soo much other shit to do it's not even funny. Lemon next chapter or maybe the one after that. Griever's ruler, if you're still interested in assisting me with that, review and let me know and if so you'll be hearing from me soon. As always, R&R!**

**-N.F.**


	5. Unwanted GoodBye

Fly Like an Eagle

Chapter 5: Unwelcome Good-bye

The next morning Rinoa awoke, clinging to something warm and firm. As her eyes adjusted to the morning light, she saw that she had been clinging to Lionheart's chest, while he had his arm around her.

_His name is Squall, _she thought. _Why do I keep calling him Lionheart?_

Squall mumbled slightly in his sleep, she couldn't quite make out what he was saying, but he looked so sad. Finally he said aloud:

"P-P-Please... n-noo... don't leave me... you're all I have!"

"Shhh. It's ok. I'm right here." She said, aware that he was speaking to someone in his dream.

"I... I miss you..." he said, shaking in his sleep. She held him close, gently running her fingers through his hair. He seemed to calm down, his hair was so soft. His eyes opened slowly.

"Good morning." she said.

"..." He said by way of reply.

"What were you dreaming about?"

"... nothing... why?" he asked.

"You talk in your sleep, did you know?" she asked, looking into those steel gray eyes, which, for the first time, looked scared.

"What did I say?" he said, still looking scared, but his eyes met hers, and his gaze did not falter or waver.

"You were so scared... like a young child... what were you dreaming about?" she asked, gently running her fingers through his hair.

"I was... no matter, it's not important." he said, his eyes returning to their normal slightly narrowed, all-knowing sort of state. "Come, lets go, I wanna get him outta here." he said gesturing to Zell.

"Wait,"she said, looking pleadingly at him.

"What?"

"Kiss me."

"What?

"Please, I wanna know that last night was real, every time something like last night happens between us, the next day you act as though it hasn't happened. I wanna know that it was really real."

Squall looked at her, his steel gray eyes looking directly into hers. Then, he smiled at her for the second time, leaned in toward her, and kissed her gently on the lips. Unlike the previous night, when they broke apart, he was not blushing; she was scarlet.

"Ok?" he said, looking at her with his beautifully unique eyes. He was no longer smiling, but traces of it remained on his face.

"Ok." she said, getting up and packing up. They were finished in a few minutes, and as Squall was hoisting Zell up onto his shoulder again, Rinoa took one last look at the most beautiful place she had ever seen. She almost didn't want to leave.

"Are you coming?" he asked her.

"On my way," she ran to catch up, noticing that not only did he wait for her, but their pace was about half of what it was the previous day, though still a fairly rapid pace. She smiled to herself. _What a difference,_ she thought to herself, _No way in hell he'd be this nice to me a few days ago. Back then, I was just a mission._

She was interrupted from her thoughts by Squall who was waiting up ahead. She had just caught up to him when he laid Zell on the ground, with the bag he was carrying.

"Wait here." he said to her. Just then Rinoa realized where they were, the edge of the forest by the Galbadian military base. She looked through the trees and saw two guards sitting behind one of the gun turrets, lazily talking to one another.

"Shit, I thought we'd get out of here before they changed shifts."

"Huh?" she asked him, confused.

"If I could have taken out the other two guards, I could've hid their bodies and they wouldn't be found 'till we were long gone because it was the end of their shift. If I take these two out, they won't report in for their hourly check-in at the base, and others will investigate, and we won't be far enough away." he explained, still monitoring the guards behind the turret. "Oh, well. I guess I have no choice. Listen, if I'm gunned down, wait here, wait until you see them leave and run, you'll have about 10 minutes to get as far from here as you can. Dollet is about 10 miles that way."

Without another word he turned and ran silently at the turret. Rinoa gasped as the two men looked up one second too late. Squall had vaulted over the turret flipping upside down and drawing his knife as he did so. As he landed he slit one's throat and stabbed the other straight in the chest. Both guards fell. Squall looked back at Rinoa, bloody knife in hand, his jumpsuit now covered in blood, his eyes cold and merciless. They softened as he looked at her, but did not loose their seriousness. He ran back to her, and grabbed Zell and his bag.

"Fuck, I'm such an idiot." he said. "C'mon, hurry, NOW." he continued as she was about to speak. She ran after him, and not long after they had left the shelter of the trees did Rinoa hear an alarm ring loudly. "Fuck, I was right, cameras. I miscalculated the speed at which it turns, I thought I'd have a few more seconds." he yelled back to her. She looked toward the base and saw the doors thrown open wide and several units of soldiers charge out toward them.

"This is ridiculous, go now, as fast as you can. Take all you can but don't carry too much. Remember what I said." he said as he stopped in his tracks, laying Zell on the ground next to the bag he had just dropped. As Rinoa slowed down, about to ask what was going on, he yelled, "Drop your bag and go! Now!" so she did as he said, dropped her bag, and sprinted by him, now realizing what he was going to do.

"You'll be killed! You can't stay and fight!" she yelled.

"Contact Timber and tell them your escorts are dead and you need assistance. They'll know what to do."

"I love you." she called to him, running with everything she had in her, and, sure enough, she had no pursuers.

"I love you too," he muttered under his breath as he drew his pistol, holding it in his right hand, and his bloody knife in his left.

"Drop your weapons and put your hands on your head!" the soldiers called to him.

"Leave if you value your lives." he calmly called back.

"We do have permission to use lethal force if necessary," they called.

"Bring it on." he said to himself, firing four times into the small army of enemy soldiers, hitting four targets right between the eyes. They charged, and so did he. He stabbed one in the chest, jumped on his shoulders and flipped high into the air, firing 6 shots into the crowd, dropping six more soldiers. As he landed, he shot 2 more enemies, making a hole in the unit that now surrounded him. He dashed through the hole, and now faced them all head on, rather than being surrounded. As he reloaded his pistol, he was caught in his left forearm by one of the bullets that was now flying at him from the Galbadian soldiers. He fired 5 more shots, but was quickly surrounded again. He charged at the weakest part of the circle, and, ignoring the pain in his arm, slashed a way through two more opponents, but this time was caught in the back by another bullet. He fell to his knees, blood seeping slightly from his mouth. He remained still, and the soldiers stopped firing at him, closing ranks around him. He knew they would try to take him alive if possible. He dropped his pistol and grasped his knife in his right hand as two soldiers approached him slowly, guns raised. When they were about 10 yards or so from him, he leapt up with all his might, slashing both throats in a single powerful swing of his bloody knife. He flipped over them and landed perfectly, but fell to his knees, breathing heavily.

"I'll handle this." the commander said, and he stepped forward to face the kneeling Squall, who, with everything he had, leapt high and fast, coming down hard on his opponent. As Squall was about to stab him directly in the chest, his knife was hit out of his hands, his left arm was grabbed, and he was flung around fast onto the ground and stabbed in his chest.

"Balamb SeeD fighting style for close quarters combat. I learned it too." the commander said as he removed his helmet, revealing a head of short blonde hair and bright green eyes. All faded to black...

"Wake up pretty boy!" called a voice he'd heard recently. He opened his eyes. He was in a dimly lit chamber, strapped down onto something with a metal surface, that he could not entirely see, but he saw that he was elevated several feet off the ground. He noticed the top of his jumpsuit had been cut off, so it looked like he was wearing gray pants made out of the canvas-like material. He felt his heart beat, and then a shot of pain, as blood dripped down his exposed and bloody chest. As he regained consciousness, he noticed the blonde man was in front of him, examining the top of his jumpsuit.

"You are a balamb SeeD and fighter pilot. I would also bet you were one of those transporting the jet we shot down. We are aware of three fighter escorts. One we have confirmed dead, and then we found you and the dead body you were carrying around. That makes 3 right? What I want to know is who or what were you transporting to where and why? Start talking or I'll have to _jolt_–" at this Squall felt a searing, white-hot pain course through him, "you into talking. You _feeling _me?" he finished.

"Go to hell. You'll get nothing out of me!"

"Oh well, I thought we could do this the easy way, but not to worry, you all crack with time. Go to level 10." he said to the soldier at the control pannel

"Level 10 sir? Are you sure?" said the soldier at the desk.

"Are you questioning me?"

"NO SIR!" the soldier said, pushing a button again.

Once again Squall felt that horrible pain surge through his body, and he began to smoke slightly because of the high electrical charge that burned the inside of his body.

After miles of traveling, she had finally made it. Dollet. Here she would be safe. She would go right for a pay phone and call for aide. She knew he was dead, but something inside her told her it was worse. He wasn't dead, but he was in such pain he was wishing he was. She couldn't say what told her this, but she hoped he would hold on, she would make sure a squad was sent to his rescue. Everything would be ok. She hoped.

**A/N: Hi, long time no review huh? Well this is a slight change from my original plans, but I think it will be better this way. Lemon postponed even more! Don't hate me Griever's Ruler, I really am planning on including one. Anyway, about this 'chappie' as some would say, I like it. Squall being acrobatic like this is pretty badass, no? Well r&r whether you love it or hate it.**


	6. Salvation from Desperation

Fly like an Eagle

Chapter 6: Salvation from Desperation

They were on their way. Four SeeD and six or seven of the Forest Owls. They were to arrive that evening and, as far as she knew, follow her instructions. She would have them go, get Zell, rescue Squall, and all fourteen or so of them would leave for Timber. This wouldn't be a big deal, just get them and get out of there. They would regroup, and go back to their base in Timber. She would survive this, she would get Squall back, and she would get to Esthar. She picked up the phone again and dialed the number of the Dollet hotel which was just down the street, getting herself a room. She made her way slowly over to the hotel, briefcase in hand. She checked in, paid her fee, and preceded to her room. She lay down on the bed, but before she knew it, she was being shaken awake.

"Miss?" one of the men in black and gold said. Rinoa sat up and surveyed the room. As she did so she saw about 10 people standing in her room, four in matching black and gold, the rest in various camouflage prints. All were heavily armed.

"Oh my God thank you all for coming-" but before she could say another thing, she was interrupted by one of the SeeD in black and gold.

"Are you packed? Our orders are to get you and get out." he said.

"I uh... wait! We can't leave now."

"And why not?" the SeeD said, sounding annoyed that they weren't already out the door.

"Squall! Zell!" Rinoa almost shouted at him. The SeeD looked perplexed. Then it occurred to her. "The last of the Eagle Squad! Lionheart and Karate Kid. We can't just leave them!"

"They understood the consequences when they became SeeD! This is a tragedy, but why send us to our deaths trying to rescue someone already dead!" another of the black and gold clad SeeD shouted back at her. The others nodded in agreement.

"But... but..." her mind was racing. "What if...what if they torture him and get some secrets out of him! We have to save him before that. And Ze– Karate Kid is in a state of false death! Is he supposed to stay in that drug induced coma forever? Come now we have to hurry!"

"They won't get one word from Lionhearts lips." A third SeeD commented.

"And false death is a way to try to get those literally on death's door to safety, there's no loss there since he would have died anyway." said the fourth.

"You guys are unbelievable!" Rinoa shouted at them. "I want no part of a rescue mission if it only rescues the one who's most _convenient_!"

"And most important. They died to keep you safe. Don't throw away the sacrifices of 3 brave men because you're still clinging to memories. Grieve, don't become reckless." The first SeeD said.

"What would he have done for you?" she asked, now crying.

"He would've obeyed his orders, and kept to the mission." said the third SeeD.

"I don't believe you! I refuse to believe it!" she said, tears streaming down her face. She ran from the room, slamming the door before anyone could follow. She raced out into the front parking lot of Dollet hotel. There she discovered the SeeD vehicles. Two tank like vehicles and a military Jeep. She got in, and, finding the keys in the ignition, started the car and drove off to find him. She knew he was alive, but could no longer feel him inside her heart. She drove at unheard of speeds, and, upon arrival, she saw the remains of the battle from the previous day. As the guards at the turret saw her she rammed into them, crushing the turret and knocking out the guards. Not stopping for an instance, she got out grabbed the handguns of the guards and ran in. The alarm sounded behind her but she didn't care. As she rounded the first corner, she saw several guards approaching her. She fired wildly at them, turned and ran the way she came, taking a different turn. After a few more minutes of turning corners, and the doubling back, she ducked into one more door, a closet. Pitch black and cramped, she stayed where she was, not moving a muscle. She heard footsteps to her right, becoming louder as they raced down the corridor in front of her, gradually becoming quieter as they went off to her left.

_I need a system_ she thought. _Just wandering around isn't going to do me any good._

She stayed where she was until the alarm died. Large groups of people were no longer running past, but she was trapped in there by one guard who patrolled this hallway. She had to take him out. She had never killed anyone before, unlike Squall who had killed many times in the short time she had known him. She couldn't do it... but...

She made a slight coughing noise as the guard walked by. Not loud enough to make him open the door, but enough to make him stop. When she was sure he had, she thrust open the door, hard, with her shoulder, hitting the guard in the face, knocking him backwards onto the ground. She advanced on him, guns raised.

"Toss your weapons toward me, slowly, use only your thumb and index finger." she demanded, looking more menacing than she felt. The guard did as she asked. Rinoa grabbed his collar, pulled him to his feet and surveyed him. He was about her height... She threw him into the closet with all her might, guns still on him.

"Take off your suit." She demanded.

"If you wanted sex you coulda asked, you're hot enough I would have said yes." he said as he did what she asked.

"No you retard, I need that suit and–" she shot him once in his left shoulder, "that's for asking."

She put on the perverted guards suit, and left him bound, gaged, and locked in the closet. She looked at the suits HUD **(A/N: heads up display, military visors often contain important information that can be viewed only while wearing the helmet, such as maps, orders from their commander, night vision, etc.)** and found an interactive map of the compound. Since this whole time she had been going with her gut, she looked for the interrogation room rather than the prison, since her gut told her Squall was tortured for information. She followed the maps instructions, passing other guards who did nothing but give her a quick glance and resume their patrol. Finally she reached the room she was looking for.

"Squall," she said more to herself than to him. She saw him, bloodstained, and unconscious, bound vertically to a large metal machine by his arms, which were stretched out to their full length. His head was hung. They had beaten his body, but she knew he had given them nothing. She ran up to him, unfastened his wrists, and caught his limb body as it fell on her shoulder. She lay him down gently, noticing the heavy burns where electricity had been sent into his body through the metal clasps that held him up by his wrists. She took off her helmet, tears coming to her eyes again. He was dead. She felt no pulse in his neck and his wrists were so burned she couldn't feel anything anyway. She held his bare, bloody chest to her and embraced him. He was even cold to the touch.

"I knew someone would come for him, but I didn't expect such a pretty little babe." A voice said from somewhere behind her. She turned to look into those green eyes. "He lasted longer than anyone I'd ever seen. 13 hours on level 10, no normal person could have survived more than an hour or two, he drained the station of its power. It'll be quite some time before we're up and running fully." Rinoa hated this man. She knew nothing about him, except he killed the one man she would do anything for. "Now come here babe, ditch the dead dude, and lets have some fun." He reached for her, grabbing her wrist. She fought with everything she had to break his grip, but he was too strong. She continued to fight, and was about to realize that she was going to be raped, when a strong hand grabbed her attacker's wrist. She heard a loud crack as all the bones in his hand broke. She turned to see Squall, kneeling, eyes flush red with blood, but his gaze was focused with anger, and his arms looked as strong as ever.

"Touch her again. I dare you." said a voice so unlike the one she loved. His voice was deep, scratchy, and terrifying. Squall flung the blond man down by his broken wrist, stood up, and stamped on the man's nose, hard, breaking it. The man was now down for the count, but Squall was not done. It seemed his rage was all that kept him conscious. He picked up the man, and turned his broken hand around 360 degrees, let go, and snapped his elbow the other direction, breaking it too. "That's for trying to touch her" he said. He kicked hard at the mans shin, forcing the newly broken bone to rip through the skin on his leg.

"Squall! That's enough!" she called. Squall promptly snapped the mans neck, and dropped his broken bloody body to the ground.

"That was for putting me through hell." he called at the dead man on the ground. He began to walk toward Rinoa, but fell to his knees, then head first into the ground. She turned him over, and held him again, though this time he was just conscious enough to know what was happening.

"Thank you for living, and for saving me. I love you. You are my world. Can you walk if I help you? We have to get outta here in a hurry." She felt him nod slightly in her shoulder. She stood up, hoisted his arm over her shoulder, and moved as fast as she could toward where she came in.

"You, Stop!" soldiers behind her called. As she ran from one group, she encountered another in front of her.

"We got you now!" the soldiers in front called. Suddenly there was a loud bang and the wall to her right was blown wide open. Cannon fire. She dashed out the hole out toward her backup she knew must be there. Sure enough two large tanks stood, firing rockets and taking out large numbers of charging soldiers, as well as large portions of the building. Rinoa wondered for a minute why the Galbadians weren't using the large plasma cannon on top of their base.

_They can't. They used up too much power on Squall._ She thought as she reached the tanks. In the back seat of her car she saw Zell leaning limply against the back seat as well as a SeeD in the driver seat. She sat Squall down in the back next to Zell, and jumped into the passenger seat, where they watched the tanks take down the whole building, reducing it to rubble.

"I thought about what you said, and he would have come for me, so we came for him. We didn't know that was where you went until we saw this car outside. How did you rescue him and disable their plasma cannon all on your own?" The SeeD driver asked.

"Thank him not me. They put him through hell, and it used up all their power, now just take us back to the hospital, we need to get them help." she said.

"Yes Ma'am." the driver said.

A/N: I finally got around to finishing this chapter. I think it's pretty good, I guess, but I know many of you will have given up on this story. Well I haven't. Next chapter coming soon!

A/N (1/27/06): there were so many typos in this chapter it was embarrassing. I'm still finding new ones. Please review and let me know what you think of the story and not the typos. I type too fast and don't always realize I wrote the wrong word or letter.


	7. Tender Embrace

Fly like an Eagle

Chapter 7: Tender Embrace

For the next few weeks, Rinoa spent her time in Squalls hospital room. Every few hours she went next door to check on Zell, who was in even worse shape than Squall was. The SeeD patrol had retired to the hotel, advising Rinoa to do the same until orders came about the status of the mission. Rinoa assumed the whole thing would be called off, since West was dead and the others weren't much better off. The days seemed to pass quickly. Rinoa would wake up, often with her head resting on the side of Squall's bead, always tenderly holding his hand. She would go to the bathroom, shower, dress, and come back out. Squall's nurse would fiddle with the IV drip and feeding tube, bring Rinoa a simple yet adequate meal, and before she knew it, Rinoa would be asleep again. At the end of one such day, Rinoa gently kissed Squall's hand. She noticed it was slightly warmer than it had been. Not only that, but she felt something. As if, very lightly, he was squeezing her hand.

"Squall?" she asked. He grimaced slightly.

"..." hardly any sound escaped his lips. His eyes opened slowly, but not entirely. They were red with weariness. Rinoa was beaming at him, tears welling up in her eyes. She stood up, her hand never leaving his. Slowly she lowered her face over his and kissed him. As she stood up straight a single teardrop fell.

"Hey," she said, trying to regain her composure. When Squall next spoke, his voice was weak and feeble, but it had that tone that she loved.

"Hey,"

"You weren't supposed to wake up for another few days, you're so strong."

"..."

"I love you, Squall."

"I love you, Rinoa." His voice sounded stronger. She kissed him again, and when they parted, there was the faintest traces of a smile on his face. She smiled back at him.

She stayed with him, never breaking eye contact. They rarely spoke that day, or the next, but as his strength grew, he became more adventurous, first sitting up, then over the corse of the next few days, he even called the nurse to come in, unplug him, and switch him over to recovery rather than acute care. In the days following, he regained more of his stamina, up to the point where, aside from his wrists, he was nearly 100 percent. The nurse even brought the means for the personal treatment and protection of his burned wrists. She came in with a fresh set of bandages and two cylindrical metal-reinforced leather splints.

"You're remarkable, you know that? Not many people could survive being shot twice, stabbed, burned, and generally being beat up like this. I don't want to know what happened, but try to take a little better care of yourself."

"No promises." Squall replied.

"Well here, lets change your bandages. I'll show you how these splints work, they're pretty cool." She then proceeded to unwrap his bandages and replace them with a fresh set. "These splints are all purpose, they can be used for any injury that will take time to heal." She put them on Squalls wrists, and tightened them. "The leather prevents anything from doing any further harm to the damaged skin, and the metal keeps your wrists at least relatively still. Do be careful anyway, you're not fully recovered yet. Stay here tonight and I'll clear your release tomorrow.

"Thank you nurse." Rinoa said. The nurse nodded and left. She looked at Squall, who was examining his leather wrist guards. "Do they feel ok?"

"Too ok. I almost would forget I'm wearing them."

"Isn't that good?"

"Depends on if it's good to forget one's weakness."

"Fair enough." she said with a smile. He returned the smile, though it was more of a smirk. "I love you."

"I never thanked you for saving my life. Thank you." he said quietly, as though he were ashamed.

"You've saved my life many times since we've been together." she had meant since they had been on their mission, but she thought briefly of Squall being only hers, and a warm feeling grew in her heart. "We are... together, right? Like going out?"

"I suppose, if that's what you want to label what we have between us."

"Yes, that is what I want to call it, so now I can call you my boyfriend!" she said happier than she had been in quite a while.

"Whatever." he said. She leaned into his good shoulder and put her arms around his waist.

"I love you Squall Leonheart." she said softly to him.

"I love you, more than you know" he whispered in her ear, his arms wrapping themselves around her delicate frame. There was a loud knock on the door and they jumped and broke apart. "Come in." Squall said. In walked the four SeeD, one carrying a large bag, followed by Quisitis, Rinoa's boss.

"I don't believe it." she said looking at Squall sitting up on the bed. "I've heard what you've been through, I didn't think it was possible to survive. But here you are, fully recovered."

"Yes ma'am." Squall said.

"I hate to do this to you, but these SeeD here are already late for their briefing on another mission. Do you think it would be possible for you, if reequipped, to–"

"I suppose. We don't really have a choice do we?" Suddenly it occurred to Rinoa what was going on.

"NO! We have to regroup, we can't go right from here!"

"Why not?" Squall asked her. "Do you still have everything you need?"

"Well yes, but–"

"We'll need a great deal of equipment, as well as financial support."

"Not a problem." Quisitis said. She nodded toward the SeeD with the large bag. He walked up and emptied it's contents on the bed beside Squall and Rinoa. He began sorting and naming each object aloud so everyone in the room could hear.

"Standard issue Universal Service Pistol (USP), 5 extra clips and two boxes of 9mm rounds. Your SeeD uniform, I wouldn't wear it too much, we are in hostile territory. Car keys. There's a civillian model Jeep outside for you. M9 Carbine Assault riffle, plenty of ammo. 5 frag grenades. 850,000 gil cash. Two bullet resistant flak jackets. And just for fun, Balamb SeeD special sniper unit precision rifle."

"Will that suffice?" Quisitis asked.

"I suppose, I know how to contact you if I need anything else." Squall said.

"Very well. Good luck." Quisitis and the others left quickly. The rest of the day passed with only Rinoa counting their money, and Squall inspecting his weapons.

"It's getting late." Squall said. Rinoa sat in her usual place, Squalls hand in hers, but tonight Squall squeezed her hand and pulled her toward him. She smiled, understanding. She got up, crawled under the sheets with him, and held him close to her. His arms slid around her, pulling her even closer. There she fell asleep. A few hours passed like that until Rinoa woke with a start. She sat up quickly, breathing heavily. She looked around frantically searching for- She saw Squall laying beside her, looking up at her.

"I'm sorry." She said, trying to calm herself down, tears spilling from her eyes. Squall sat up, his arms went around her waist, and she threw her arms around his neck now crying.

"It's only a dream. It's ok, I'm here."

"I dreamed I was there, watching them hurt you and slowly break your spirit. In real life I ran to safety, but in my dream I watched you fight against hundreds of men. Every time you were hit, it's like I was hit too."

"It's ok, I promise you, I'm ok now."

"And worst of all," she said through tears "in my dream, I never told you how much I love you." Before Squall could say anything she had tightened her hold around his neck and pushed him back on the bed. She pressed her lips to his, kissing him passionately. Squall lay on his back, with Rinoa on top of him. Her lips left his. "I love you" she said no longer crying. She gently kissed down his neck and his bare chest. Squall gently tilted her face up back to his, and their lips met again. When they next parted, they had shifted so that Rinoa was lying on her back and Squall was lying on his side, facing her. He lay his hand flat on her stomach. Squall's hand slid gently under the fabric of her shirt, feeling the smooth skin underneath. His eyes met hers, and she nodded. His hand became more daring, venturing up her shirt, delicately caressing her curves. In exasperation, she quickly removed her shirt and undid her bra, exposing herself to him. His hand again began to roam over her warm soft flesh, just barely touching her at all. When his hand passed over her breasts, she would shiver in pleasure, inhaling deeply, getting more and more irritated by the lack of contact. Finally she grabbed his arm and pulled, forcing him to roll over on top of her. He leaned down and kissed her passionately, moving down her neck to her shoulders, and venturing down to her chest. As he took her breast in his mouth, she gasped with the amazing feeling. He slowly began massaging her with his tongue and hand. For some time he lay there teasing her, first one side, then the other. Her body was practically begging for him. Slowly she slid her pants down her legs. Now she lay naked underneath him. She was shaking, but could think of nothing she wanted more. She gently tugged at the waistline of Squalls pants, indicating that he should do as she did. He did. He aligned himself with her and looked into her eyes. "Take me" she said to him in a whisper.

"It's going to hurt." He said looking at her.

"I know, but I need this." She said. With one thrust he was inside her. His lips met hers, so any sound of pain or discomfort was muted. For a few minutes, they lay there, connected. When their lips parted Rinoa's focus returned. "I'm ok now, just, be gentle."

"I promise." He pulled out of her slowly, then reentered just as slowly. As they became more comfortable the tempo increased. Rinoa felt a warm feeling inside her begin to grow as the pace quickened, until finally, she climaxed. As she enjoyed her feeling of ecstacy Squall thrust twice more, and reached his own climax. After a few minutes of recuperation, Squall shifted off her and wrapped his arms around her waist, she rolled over to face him, and wrapped her arms around his neck, settling into a warm, comfortable, tender embrace.

**A/N: There, finally the promised lemon. Review if you like, hate or are indifferent. Thx! **

**-N.F.**


	8. The Road to Esthar

Fly like an Eagle

Chapter 8: The Road to Esthar

**A/N: Reader discretion is advised. Just a heads up, don't say I didn't warn you.**

Squall awoke early the next morning in a very relaxed mood. He knew that they had a lot to do and a long way to go, but was very reluctant to wake the raven haired girl asleep on his shoulder. He lay there, cradling the girl he had made a woman. Minutes seemed to him like hours, and the sun rose very slowly. When he felt he could no longer put it off, he leaned in to wake her up. His lips met hers as he kissed her gently. When their lips parted, he was rewarded with a sigh of approval from his sleeping lover.

"Good morning." he whispered to her.

"What... time is it?" she asked with a yawn, as she slowly and cautiously opened her eyes, letting them adjust to the light.

"Nearly 9:00, and we have a lot to do today."

"That's nice, just give me a few more minutes..." she said, nuzzling against Squall's chest and beginning to doze again.

"I'm sorry Rin," he said as he sat up, causing her to fall back on the sheets. She inhaled sharply.

"Aaah! It's **_cold_**!" she complained.

"You better get up, we gotta go."

"Fine."

She sat up, still clutching the blanket to her naked body. Squall looked over at her, and was mesmerized by her stunning beauty in the early morning sun.

"Are you ok?" she asked

"You are so beautiful," She smiled, and looked into his blue eyes. _Blue eyes? _They were definitely his eyes, she recognized them, and the way they captivated her was the same, but still... _blue eyes?_ They looked lighter, less harsh than before. More pleasure and less business. They seemed to make him look more human. "Are _you_ ok?" Squall asked her, smiling at her.

"Oh, yes. Sorry, I was... looking at your eyes. They're beautiful, but they're different now than they were."

"Really?" Squall got up and moved across the room to look in the mirror. "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Well I believe you, but they look the same to me." he said, still looking in the mirror. "I'm gonna go shower, take your time waking up for now, but be ready to get in when I come out."

"Ok." Rinoa said. Squall turned toward the bathroom, and Rinoa couldn't help but be enticed by his body. Her eyes started on his lean muscular shoulders and back but began to roam all over his body. Before her eyes had had their fill, he disappeared into the bathroom. Moments later, she heard the shower turn on, and steam began to pour out of the crack between the bathroom door and the floor. Then she got an idea. As quietly as she could she got up, letting the sheets fall back on the bed. She slowly made her way over to the bathroom door, feeling the heat of the steam around her feet. She gently and quietly opened the door and snuck into the bathroom. The steam was so thick she could hardly see, but then again, neither could he. She focused intently on where she knew the shower had to be, and it slowly came into focus. She noticed there was a space in the back between the wall and the shower curtain. _He must not have closed it all the way,_ she thought.

Carefully and as quietly as possible, she climbed into the shower. She found him soaking wet, with his back to her. She snuck up on him, and wrapped her arms around him. He jumped slightly, and turned to face him.

"What are you doing here?" he said with a playful expression on his face.

"Just thought I'd say hi, and see if you wanted to, I don't know, have sex with me."

"You don't waste any time do you? You know you coulda just –" he was cut off by Rinoa grabbing him around the neck and bringing his lips to hers. Her tongue gently worked it's way into his mouth as the kiss deepened. To her surprise, he broke the kiss and began to kiss his way down her neck and shoulders.

"Mmnm... what'r you doin'?" she asked as he went still slower over her body. The warm water fell over them both as Squall continued to kiss her body. When he reached her breasts, he took one in his mouth and began massaging her with his mouth. Moving from one to the other, he excited her more and more, and more and more she wanted to please her man. "Mmn... stop."

"Are you ok?"

"Better than ok." she said. She dropped to her knees and took him in her mouth. He inhaled sharply and his eyes closed. She could tell how much he was enjoying himself. After a few minutes of this, he gently pushed her off of him, and indicated that she should stand up. She did so and wrapped her arms around his neck and her right leg around his waist. When he entered her this time, there was no pain, just a deep satisfaction that only sex can bring. They began to move together, slowly at first, but then faster as they became used to this position. After about 45 minutes or so she felt that warmth building deep inside her. Just as it built to its peak, she yet again felt him explode inside her. She kissed him as she recovered. "Thank you, I'll let you finish your shower now."

"Oh thank you, you're too kind." he replied. Rinoa exited the shower with a backward glance at Squall, and a smile. She grabbed a towel, dried off, and put her clothes back on. She realized that they may need to go into town and buy more clothes and supplies. Sure enough, when Squall came out of the shower, he was wearing his SeeD uniform. He took off the jacket, and anything that would identify him as an elite soldier of balamb, so that he was wearing a black dress shirt and black dress pants, both of which had yellow trim around the cuffs, collar, and waistline, and she could just barely see the silver of the metal splints on his wrists.. He looked very good, but this wasn't a suitable outfit for traveling.

"Lets go shopping!" Rinoa said excitedly.

"What?"

"Look, you have all that money, and we need new travel outfits."

"I guess it couldn't hurt to get some supplies, and I was discharged yesterday."

"Alright, lets go!"

Squall sighed, grabbed his bag of weapons, and followed her out the door. When he made it outside, he found the car that had been left for him, and dropped his bag in the back. He and Rinoa got in, and drove into town.

The first place Rinoa wanted him to pull over was outside a popular clothing store. He agreed that a new wardrobe would be a good place to start. It was overwhelming to Squall, but when they went inside, Rinoa seemed right at home. She rushed off to her section, in search of things that looked good on her, leaving squall alone to wander. The men's section went on forever, but none of it looked to appealing to him. He finally found a section of T-shirts of a variety of colors. He found his size and grabbed both black and all three white shirts that were left, and moved on. He came across a whole section of jeans, and, not knowing where to start, grabbed a pair of blue and several pairs of black jeans his size, then went looking for a jacket, as the season had begun to change to autumn and he knew brisk weather was on the way. He finally found a jacket he liked. It was made of black leather, with a white fur collar. It reminded him of his bomber jacket he had once had. He found his size and was about to go pay for the items he had selected when he came across a pair of black leather pants that he supposed one would wear when riding a motorcycle. They were good quality leather, and he didn't think they would rip or tear. He grabbed a pair, and three work belts that hung on a nearby rack. As he went to pay for all his purchases he ran into Rinoa, who had apparently been looking for him.

"Come here for a minute, I want to see what you think of this one outfit." she began pulling on his free hand, leading him to the dressing rooms. She pushed him onto the bench in between the men's and women's dressing rooms, and went in to change. She came out in a black tank top with a denim skirt and a long, sky blue, sleeveless overcoat that Squall could see had wings designed into the back of the garment. "Whad'ya think?" she asked with a smile.

"Whatever."

"I like it too. Let me see what you got." She grabbed the clothes Squall had laid on the bench beside him. "Not very colorful are you?"

"This isn't supposed to be about making yourself look good, You're supposed to buying things that are practical. I'm sure You'll be getting cold in that outfit. That's why I got this." squall said, indicating the black leather jacket next to him.

"Well yea, but I mean, come on, the only things with any personality are these pants and that jacket. Go throw this on and lets see how it looks." She handed him a white shirt, the black leather pants, his jacket, and, confusingly enough, all three belts.

"You want me to wear all three of these? At once?"

"Well yea, why?"

Squall sighed and took his stuff into the changing room. He looked in the mirror. He thought he looked pretty good in that stuff, but even if he had hated it, he wouldn't have cared. With the exception of the belts draped around his hips, this outfit was practical. It was warm, but it could breathe so he wouldn't sweat when wearing it in warmer conditions. He reached into the neck of his shirt and pulled out the silver emblem of a lion.

"Ooh, hello badass." Rinoa said upon his exit of the changing room. "Go change out of that so we can pay for it, then change back. That's really cool." Squall did as he was told, and when he came out she was gone from sight.

"I have one more thing to show you, wait right there." her voice came from the changing room. When she came out, Squall was stunned. His face was cool and indifferent, but he was truly speechless at her beauty. She was in a pale yellow dress that was lined in white, with a white strap that crisscrossed and wrapped around her neck. She stood there kind of uneasily, letting Squall's eyes pass over her. "What do you think?" she asked timidly. Squall could tell that she was desperately seeking his approval.

"I like it." he said simply, and her eyes lit up.

"Really! I knew you would, I absolutely love this dress. Let me change back and we can go checkout and change into our other clothes."

"Whatever."

She reappeared in a flash grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the cash register, seeming to be in a good mood.

"That'll be 27,435 gil." said the cashier.

"How much was that dress?" Squall asked Rinoa as he paid for their clothing.

"Can we use the dressing rooms again? We want to change into some of these."

"Sure." said the cashier.

Rinoa again took Squall's hand and pushed him into the changing room, where he changed into the outfit that she liked.

"Ready to go?" Rinoa asked, now clad in blue, with a black tank top.

"I guess so, we'll need food, fuel and other supplies, so we'd better hurry up."

The rest of the day went pretty fast. Squall bought a tent (though Rinoa said she'd rather sleep in the car), fuel, food for about a week, sleeping bags, a new combat knife, travel bags for their clothing, and a pair of polarized (reflective) aviator sunglasses. The day had nearly ended, but they were finally on the road to Esthar.

**A/N: Surprise! Another lemon! Anyway, I wanted something to happen in this chapter, but oh well. Things will have to happen in the next chapter because this is just what I call "Transition fluff." I like it ok though. If you can't picture the outfits I described, just play through Final Fantasy VIII. As always, your support is greatly appreciated, so read and review with comments and/or suggestions.**


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